WILLET SABINE'S GULL BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE PARASITIC JAEGER LONG-TAILED JAEGER
White-winged Scoter Common Loon Great Egret Broad-winged Hawk Merlin Black-bellied Plover Semipalmated Plover Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Sanderling Semipalmated Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Baird's Sandpiper Buff-breasted Sandpiper Short-billed Dowitcher Bonaparte Gull Great Black-backed Gull Caspian Tern Common Tern Forster's Tern Common Nighthawk Chimney Swift Ruby-throated Hummingbird Olive-sided Flycatcher Eastern Wood-Pewee Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Traill's Flycatcher Least Flycatcher Great Crested Flycatcher Red-eyed Vireo Swainson's Thrush Nashville Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Magnolia Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Black-and-white Warbler American Redstart Ovenbird Northern Waterthrush Mourning Warbler Common Yellowthroat Wilson's Warbler Canada Warbler Bobolink Baltimore Oriole Well it's that time of year again when Hamilton shines at the west end of Lake Ontario. Right on cue, east winds brought in the specialties albeit in low numbers but killer looks. Last Saturday to start things off, a BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE and juvenile LONG-TAILED JAEGER were seen at close range. The LONG-TAILED JAEGER clearly was tired from the journey as it made several stops right off the beach only to be harassed by the gulls and then sent on its way. On its final pass, it cruised at low altitude right over the viewing platform where birders stood with their jaws dropped. It was amazing. The next day a distant PARASITIC JAEGER was seen harassing a few gulls out at a distance but later in the day, another sub-adult LONG-TAILED JAEGER came racing right by the platform and set itself down in the water not too far off the beach much to the delight of the birders standing there. Finally, yesterday a juvenile SABINE'S GULL was seen from Green Road not far out flying toward the Lakeland Tower, many more of these to come. Other birds seen down here this past week include White-winged Scoter, Common Loon, Sanderling, Baird's Sandpiper, Bonaparte's and Great Black-backed Gull, Caspian, Common and a nice treat of a Forster's Tern floating around for a good half hour in front of the viewing stand. A surprise yesterday was a flyby of a WILLET at Canada Centre for Inland Waters, unfortunately the bird was not refound. A number of shorebirds are still around and still coming through. A Black-bellied Plover was seen in a sod field on Haldibrook Road west of Highway 6 yesterday. A first of season Buff-breasted Sandpiper was seen on Wednesday in a field near 433 Greens Road south of Mount Hope. The bird was reported again yesterday around the noon hour. A scope is necessary as this is a large field. Be cautious as there is very little room to pull off the side of the road. Other places like Windermere Basin, Tollgate Pond, North Island off Eastport and Red Hill Stormwater Ponds have reported Black-bellied and Semipalmated Plover, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Sanderling, Semipalmated and Least Sandpiper, and Short-billed Dowitcher. At the stormwater pond on the 407 just as you get on eastbound at the 403, two Baird's Sandpipers were present along with Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Semipalmated Sandpiper and a Merlin sitting on the mudflat to view the snack bar. Things are warming up in the woodlots this week with birds filtering through in low numbers for now. At Shell Park in Oakville, migrants included Olive-sided Flycatcher, Red-eyed Vireo and Wilson's Warbler. At Sherwood Forest Park in Burlington, migrants included Least Flycatcher, Red-eyed Vireo, Nashville and Black-and-White Warbler, American Redstart, Bobolink and Baltimore Oriole. At Shoreacres in Burlington, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Eastern Wood Pewee, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Red-eyed Vireo, Swainson's Thrush, Chestnut-sided, Black-and-white and Wilson's Warbler, America Redstart, Northern Waterthrush were migrants noted. A great place this week was Waterdown Wetlands on Centre Road north of Waterdown. If you can manage the mosquitoes, Great Crested, Yellow-bellied, Least and Traill's Flycatcher, Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, Blackburnian, Black-and-wile Warbler, American Redstart, Ovenbird, Mourning Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Wilson's and Canada Warbler were all seen this week. In the odds and sods, Great Egrets are roosting in several places, above the Park Hill Dam, at Hespeler Mill Pond and off Caroll's Point. A couple more were seen at the 407 stormwater ponds and the Red Hill Stormwater Pond. Broad-winged Hawks were seen at the site of the Black-bellied Plover and over Woodland Cemetery. Another migrant Merlin was reported at Courtcliffe Park in Carlisle. Common Nighthawks continue to filter through with reports from Brantford, west of the Kenilworth traffic circle in East Hamilton, west Burlington, Dundas and North Halton. Olive-sided Flycatcher was reported from the Kenilworth Access and Courtcliffe Park. Chimney Swifts were on the move in Dundas, and over Dickson School near Cambridge. Baltimore Orioles were reported in numbers in yards in South Burlington, these will be scarce soon. That's it for this week, its going to be a great weekend to get out and about. Please report your sightings here! Good birding, Cheryl Edgecombe HNC --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. http://www.avast.com _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. 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